The Women's Balcony

Ismach Hatani

An accident during a bar mitzvah celebration leads to a rift between the men and women in a devout community in Jerusalem in this rousing, good-hearted comedy. Awash with Jerusalem's distinctive glow, THE WOMEN'S BALCONY is a warm, poignant portrait of a modern community struggling to balance protocol with practical, progressive values - at once rebellious and respectful in spirit.

Nominated for Best Supporting Actress (Orna Banai) and Best Supporting Actor (Avraham Aviv Alush) at the Awards of the Israeli Film Academy.

Related videos

A devout woman is living with her family in the Jewish cemetery on Jerusalem's Mount of Olives. During the day, while her husband and children are at school, she is left alone in the mountain. She goes for walks in the cemetery, trying to escape the endless house work. One…

An intimate and deeply disturbing story of the conflict between a father's love and his deep devotion to religion. A respected Orthodox Rabbi dotes on his only son but his religious strictures leave an emotional gap between the impish child and the stern father. A dramatic retelling of the story…

As Eyal finishes the traditional Jewish week of mourning for his late son, his wife Vicky urges him to return to their routine -- but just because the shiva has ended doesn't mean it's life as usual.
Nominated for the Golden Camera and the Critics Week Grand Prize at the…

1938, Prague. Emil, a radio reporter, is married to the beautiful Hana, an actress whose new film has catapulted her into fame. As the Nazis come to power, however, Hana's Jewish heritage precipitates her fall from stardom to the bottom of the social ladder. In order to protect her, Emil…

The French tradition of comedy built around impeccable timing and flawless acting is alive and well in this farce about a group of vibrant Spanish maids who shake things up in 1960s Paris.
Jean-Louis has a quiet, bourgeois existence, living peacefully with his neurotic socialite wife Suzanne while their children…

Oscar Nominee for Best Foreign Language Film, BEAUFORT chronicles the final days of an Israeli army unit's tense, painful withdrawal in 2000 from a strategic bunker inside a 12th century Crusader fortress near the Lebanese border, marking the end of nearly two decades of controversial occupation.

Adam and Lamia are a Christian Arab couple from Nazareth - members of a vanishing minority in the Holy Land. When Lamia gets pregnant, Adam decides it's time to make it big and provide for his family by entering the biggest local business - religion. He begins to sell... Holy…

Bursting with mordant wit and alive with urgent real-life dramatic energy, Rashid Masharawi's Laila's Birthday is a "fleet, dark urban comedy," (New York Times) that "moves at a brisk clip, ticking incidents like a meter on overtime" (Time Out New York).

A beautiful young woman returns to war-torn Baghdad and has to confront a harsh reality and shattered dreams. Fatima is an intimate film that tackles how sensitive human being react to the ominous reality of war and destruction. Using a poetic approach, the film subtly brings the viewer into the…

Yaron, an elite special operations squad leader, is the spiritual leader and alpha male among his peers, a small, highly trained team that is part of the Israeli Defense Ministry's Anti-Terrorism unit. Like a band of brothers, these men work, play, laugh, and cry together. They are true patriots; they…

Silent Waters is set in 1979 in Pakistan, when General Zia-ul-Haq took control of the country and stoked the fires of Islamic nationalism. Ayesha, a Muslim woman who gets by on her late husband's pension and by teaching young girls the Koran, invests her hopes in her beloved son Saleem.…